NBA G League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Development League (NBA D-League) from 2005 until 2017. The league started with eight teams until NBA commissioner David Stern announced a plan to expand the NBA D-League to fifteen teams and develop it into a true minor league farm system, with each NBA D-League team affiliated with one or more NBA teams in March 2005. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 NBA season, 33% of NBA players had spent time in the NBA D-League, up from 23% in 2011. As of the 2019–20 season, the league consists of 28 teams, all of which are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team. In the 2017–18 season, Gatorade became the title sponsor of the D-League, and it was renamed the NBA G League. History National Basketball Development League (2001–2005) The league began its play as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) in the 2001–02 season; the original eight franchises were all located in the southeastern United States (specifically in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia). NBA Development League (2005–2017) In 2005, the league's name was changed to NBA Development League (NBA D-League) as part of the new collective bargaining agreement with the NBA and a bid to appeal to more fans by showing their connection to the major league. In the same offseason, Southwest Basketball, LLC led by David Kahn was granted permission by the league to operate four new teams. Southwest Basketball then purchased three existing franchises and one expansion team: the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, Austin Toros, Fort Worth Flyers and the Tulsa 66ers. The Arkansas RimRockers were also added from the ABA for the 2005–06 season. In February 2006, the D-League expanded to California for the first time with the addition of the Bakersfield Jam. Two months later, the league announced that four teams from the Continental Basketball Association were joining the league: the Dakota Wizards, Sioux Falls Skyforce, Idaho Stampede, and a team originally slated for CBA expansion, the Colorado 14ers. Shortly after, the league announced expansion teams in the Anaheim Arsenal and the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The D-Fenders became the first D-League team to be directly owned by an NBA parent team, the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the westward expansion contributed to the contraction of the NBA-owned Roanoke Dazzle and Fayetteville Patriots for that season. The Florida Flame suspended operations due to arena scheduling difficulties. After the 2006–07 season, there would be no more teams in the southeastern United States until the 2016 expansion team, the Greensboro Swarm. After the 2006 to 2009 expansions, the league membership was fairly consistent with only a few relocations and suspensions. In 2009, the Houston Rockets entered into the first single-affiliation partnership, called the hybrid model, with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. This began a wave of NBA and D-League teams entering into single-affiliation agreements of both the hybrid and parent-team owned varieties. With more NBA involvement, the league once again began to expand and spread its footprint. By 2015, the last multiple-affiliate team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, was purchased by the Indiana Pacers leading to the first season where all D-League teams were affiliated with only one NBA team. As there were no longer any unaffiliated D-League teams left, the remaining NBA teams began purchasing expansion franchises or hybrid partnership teams and placing them near the parent team. In 2015, the Toronto Raptors placed their own team, Raptors 905, in the Greater Toronto Area in Mississauga, Ontario. In 2016, the D-League expanded by three more NBA parent club-owned teams for the largest D-League expansion since 2007. The Charlotte Hornets created the Greensboro Swarm, the Brooklyn Nets created the Long Island Nets, and the Chicago Bulls created the Windy City Bulls. NBA G League (2017–present) In the 2017–18 season, the D-League entered into a multi-year partnership with Gatorade and announced it would be rebranded as the NBA Gatorade League, which was officially shortened to "NBA G League" prior to the season. It also continued its membership changes with the relocation of the Erie BayHawks to Lakeland, Florida, as the Lakeland Magic, a new Erie BayHawks franchise; and expansions in the Agua Caliente Clippers in Ontario, California; the Memphis Hustle in Southaven, Mississippi; and the Wisconsin Herd in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Los Angeles D-Fenders would also re-brand to the South Bay Lakers. In December 2017, the NBA and the live streaming website Twitch announced that they would broadcast G League games on Twitch. Games have also been aired on the ESPN Plus subscription service. For the 2019–20 season, the G League will begin to offer Select Contracts to players that are not yet eligible to enter the NBA Draft. Since 2006, players that are not at least 19 years old by the end of the calendar year have been ineligible, creating what became known as the "one-and-done" rule where players joined a college basketball team for one season and then leave for the NBA. The new Select Contract is to be an alternative for players who do not want to or cannot attend a college, worth up to $125,000 for a season. All-Star Game The NBA Development League held its first All-Star game February 17, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was part of the NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. As with the NBA's showcase game, a fan vote determined the starting lineup for each team. The East won, 114 to 100, with Pops Mensah-Bonsu named the game's MVP. The second annual All-Star game was held on February 16, 2008, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Blue team beat the Red team, 117–99, and Jeremy Richardson was named the MVP. In addition to the NBA D-League All-Star Game, the league debuted its first Dream Factory Friday Night events, which modeled after the NBA All-Star Saturday Night events. The events consists of Three-Point Shootout (won by Adam Harrington), Slam Dunk Contest (won by Brent Petway) and game of H.O.R.S.E. (won by Lance Allred). The 2009 D-League All-Star game was held on February 14, 2009, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The Red Team defeated the Blue Team, 113–103, and Blake Ahearn and Courtney Sims were named co-MVPs. Along with the All-Star game, the NBA D-League ran their second annual Dream Factory Friday Night events. H.O.R.S.E., which debuted last year, was won by Will Conroy of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. The Three-Point Shootout was won by Blake Ahearn of the Dakota Wizards, and the Slam Dunk Contest was won by James White of the Bakersfield Jam. The 2010 D-League All-Star game was held on February 13, 2010, at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. The Western Conference team defeated the Eastern Conference Team, 98–81. Bakersfield Jam center Brian Butch, who scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, was named as the MVP of the game. The NBA D-League also ran their third annual Dream Factory Friday Night events. The inaugural Shooting Stars Competition was won by a team of Pat Carroll, Trey Gilder and Carlos Powell. The Three-Point Shootout was won by Andre Ingram of the Utah Flash, and the Slam Dunk Contest was won by Dar Tucker of the Los Angeles D-Fenders. D-League Showcase The league stages an annual NBA D-League Showcase in which all of the league's teams play each other in a "carnival" format. The showcase was first played in 2005 was originally intended solely as a scouting event for NBA general managers and scouts, but has evolved into a fan-friendly four-day event in which each team plays two games apiece. Since the inception of the event in 2005, there have been 15 players called-up or recalled during or immediately following the Showcase. The showcase has been hosted in Columbus, Georgia (2005), Fayetteville, North Carolina (2006), Sioux Falls, South Dakota (2007), Boise, Idaho (2008), Orem, Utah (2009), Boise, Idaho (2010), South Padre Island, Texas (2011), and Reno, Nevada in 2012 and 2013, and Santa Cruz, California in 2015. Draft The NBA D-League Draft occurs each season and is the major source from which teams build their rosters. Team rosters are made up of returning players (players who were on the team during the previous season), allocated players (players who have local significance), and drafted players. The 8 round draft utilizes a "serpentine" format, meaning the order alternates in each round; Team A who selected first in Round 1 will select last in Round 2, while Team B who selected last in Round 1 will get the first pick in Round 2. Round 3 was added in 2014 Player allocations Players for NBA D-League teams do not sign contracts with the individual teams, but with the league itself. D-League team rosters consist of a total of 12 players, 10 (or fewer) being D-League players and two (or more) NBA players. The rosters are made up in a number of ways: the previous years' players, players taken in the D-League draft, allocation players (meaning players who are assigned to a team with which they have a local connection, such as a University of Texas player being assigned to the Austin Toros), NBA team assignments, and local tryouts. Each NBA team can assign two first or second year players to its affiliated D-League team. If more than two NBA players are assigned to a team, the team must reduce the number of D-League players to keep the total roster size to 12. An NBA player will continue to be paid his NBA salary and will continue to be included on his NBA team’s roster on the inactive list while playing in the D-League. Each team also has local tryouts, and one player from the tryouts is assigned to the team. The minimum age to play in the NBDL is 18, unlike the NBA which requires players to be 19 years old and one year out of high school in order to sign an NBA contract or be eligible for the draft. The tallest player ever to be assigned is Hasheem Thabeet, the second player selected in the 2009 NBA Draft. NBA teams can call up players as many times as they choose, and there is no limit to the number of times an NBA player with three years or less experience can be assigned to the D-League. Starting in 2011–12, veteran NBA players could be assigned with their consent. Successful NBA call-ups Many former NBA draftees, waived players and undrafted players have played in the NBA D-League. The following are some of the called-up D-League players that went on to have successful NBA careers; Rafer Alston, Louis Amundson, Chris Andersen, Kelenna Azubuike, Matt Barnes, Devin Brown, Will Bynum, Matt Carroll, Eddie Gill, Stephen Graham, Jason Hart, Chuck Hayes, Anthony Johnson, Dahntay Jones, Jamario Moon, Mikki Moore, Smush Parker, Bobby Simmons, Ime Udoka, Von Wafer, C. J. Watson, Mike Wilks, J.J. Barea, Brandon Bass, Andray Blatche, Avery Bradley, Aaron Brooks, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Marcin Gortat, Ramon Sessions, Jeremy Lin, Danny Green and Martell Webster. Aside from these players, there are several successful NBA players who were assigned to the D-League in their first and second season, such as . Currently, there are only 13 players with D-League experience who won an NBA title: Tremaine Fowlkes with the Detroit Pistons in 2003–04; Devin Brown and Mike Wilks with the San Antonio Spurs in 2004–05; Earl Barron and Dorell Wright with the Miami Heat in 2005–06; James White with the San Antonio Spurs in 2006–07; Gabe Pruitt with the Boston Celtics in 2007–08; and, Sun Yue and Shannon Brown with the Los Angeles Lakers, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell in 2008–09,and 2009-10, and most recently Jose Juan Barea, Rodrigue Beaubois, Ian Mahinmi, Dominique Jones with the Dallas Mavericks in 2010-2011, and Dexter Pittman, Terrel Harris with the Miami Heat in 2011-2012. Bobby Simmons and Aaron Brooks are the only former D-League players to win an NBA end of season award; Simmons won the Most Improved Player Award with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2004–05 and Brooks won the Most Improved Player Award with the Houston Rockets in 2009–10. In the 2008 NBA Draft, the Idaho Stampede's Mike Taylor was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers. He became the first player from the NBA D-League to be drafted by an NBA team. He was subsequently traded and signed a rookie contract with Los Angeles Clippers. In the 2010 NBA Draft, the Tulsa 66ers' Latavious Williams was drafted by the Miami Heat and later traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA team affiliated with the 66ers. One year later, in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Bakersfield Jam's Chukwudiebere Maduabum was drafted by the then-affiliated Los Angeles Lakers and later traded to the Denver Nuggets. Teams Current teams 2019–20 teams Team ownership Ownership models vary across the NBA D-League. Independent owners control most of the league’s teams, but growing willingness among NBA organizations to invest in the D-League has led to two other models: direct ownership of D-League teams by parent NBA clubs and single-affiliate partnerships in which the D-League team remains independently owned while the parent club runs and finances basketball operations. The Houston Rockets and Rio Grande Valley Vipers pioneered the single-affiliate partnership, also known as the hybrid model, in 2009–10. In November 2010, the New Jersey Nets and Springfield Armor announced they will enter into a single-affiliate partnership beginning in 2011–12 (the Nets are now known as the Brooklyn Nets). In June 2011, the New York Knicks and Erie BayHawks announced they will be single-affiliated. In May 2012, the Portland Trail Blazers entered into a single-affiliated partnership with the Idaho Stampede. The following month, the Boston Celtics and Maine Red Claws announced a single-affiliation partnership. In April 2013, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that they had purchased the inactive Utah Flash and moved them to Newark, Delaware, as the Delaware 87ers. In June 2013, the Miami Heat announced that they had entered into a single-affiliated partnership with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. In July 2013, the Sacramento Kings and Reno Bighorns entered into a single-affiliation as well. Independent ownership/operations: Bakersfield Jam, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Iowa Energy Parent club ownership: Austin Toros (by the San Antonio Spurs), Canton Charge (by the Cleveland Cavaliers), Delaware 87ers (by the Philadelphia 76ers), Los Angeles D-Fenders (by the Los Angeles Lakers), Santa Cruz Warriors (by the Golden State Warriors), Tulsa 66ers (by the Oklahoma City Thunder) Single affiliation/hybrid model: Erie BayHawks (with the New York Knicks), Idaho Stampede (with the Portland Trail Blazers), Maine Red Claws (with the Boston Celtics), Reno Bighorns (with the Sacramento Kings), Rio Grande Valley Vipers (with the Houston Rockets), Sioux Falls Skyforce (with the Miami Heat), Springfield Armor (with the Brooklyn Nets), Texas Legends (with the Dallas Mavericks) Defunct teams League development Team timeline Current teams in tan Former teams or former names in blue DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:25 Period = from:2001 till:2014 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:140 left:20 bottom:20 top:0 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white PlotData= width:20 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:powderblue from:2001 till:2005 text:Asheville Altitude (2001–2005) bar:1 color:tan1 from:2005 till:end text:Tulsa 66ers (2005–present) bar:2 color:powderblue from:2001 till:2004 text:(North) Charleston Lowgators ('01–'04) bar:2 color:powderblue from:2004 till:2006 text:Florida Flame (2004–2006) bar:3 color:powderblue from:2001 till:2005 text:Columbus Riverdragons (2001–2005) bar:3 color:tan1 from:2005 till:end text:Austin Toros (2005–present) bar:4 color:powderblue from:2001 till:2006 text:Fayetteville Patriots (2001–2006) bar:5 color:powderblue from:2001 till:2003 text:Greenville Groove (2001–2003) bar:6 color:powderblue from:2001 till:2005 text:Huntsville Flight (2001–2005) bar:6 color:powderblue from:2005 till:2011 text:Albuquerque / New Mexico Thunderbirds (2005–2011) bar:6 color:tan1 from:2011 till:end text:Canton Charge (2011–present) bar:7 color:powderblue from:2001 till:2003 text:Mobile Revelers (2001–2003) bar:8 color:powderblue from:2001 till:2006 text:Roanoke Dazzle (2001–2006) bar:9 color:powderblue from:2005 till:2007 text:Fort Worth Flyers (2005–2007) bar:10 color:powderblue from:2005 till:2007 text:Arkansas RimRockers (2005–2007) bar:11 color:powderblue from:2006 till:2009 text:Anaheim Arsenal (2006–2009) bar:11 color:tan1 from:2009 till:end text:Springfield Armor (2009–present) bar:12 color:tan1 from:2006 till:2010 text:Los Angeles D-Fenders (2006–2010, 2011–present) bar:12 color:tan1 from:2011 till:end bar:13 color:tan1 from:2006 till:end text:Bakersfield Jam (2006–present) bar:14 color:powderblue from:2006 till:2009 text:Colorado 14ers (2006–2009) bar:14 color:tan1 from:2010 till:end text:Texas Legends (2010–present) bar:15 color:powderblue from:2006 till:2012 text:Dakota Wizards (2006–2012) bar:15 color:tan1 from:2012 till:end text:Santa Cruz Warriors (2012-present) bar:16 color:tan1 from:2006 till:end text:Idaho Stampede (2006–present) bar:17 color:tan1 from:2006 till:end text:Sioux Falls Skyforce (2006–present) bar:18 color:tan1 from:2007 till:end text:Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2007–present) bar:19 color:tan1 from:2007 till:end text:Iowa Energy (2007–present) bar:20 color:tan1 from:2007 till:end text:Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2007–present) bar:21 color:powderblue from:2007 till:2011 text:Utah Flash (2007–2011) bar:21 color:tan1 from:2013 till:end text:Delaware 87ers (2013–present) bar:22 color:tan1 from:2008 till:end text:Erie BayHawks (2008–present) bar:23 color:tan1 from:2008 till:end text:Reno Bighorns (2008–present) bar:24 color:tan1 from:2009 till:end text:Maine Red Claws (2009–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2002 Champions Note: For the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons, (and resuming with the 2007–08 season onwards) the championship has been a best-of-three game series. Awards and honors Most Valuable Player * 2001–02 Ansu Sesay, Greenville Groove * 2002–03 Devin Brown, Fayetteville Patriots * 2003–04 Tierre Brown, Charleston Lowgators * 2004–05 Matt Carroll, Roanoke Dazzle * 2005–06 Marcus Fizer, Austin Toros * 2006–07 Randy Livingston, Idaho Stampede * 2007–08 Kasib Powell, Sioux Falls Skyforce * 2008–09 Courtney Sims, Iowa Energy * 2009–10 Mike Harris, Rio Grande Valley Vipers * 2010–11 Curtis Stinson, Iowa Energy * 2011–12 Justin Dentmon, Austin Toros * 2012–13 Andrew Goudelock, Rio Grand Valley Vipers Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year * 2006–07 Bryan Gates, Idaho Stampede * 2007–08 Bryan Gates, Idaho Stampede * 2008–09 Quin Snyder, Austin Toros * 2009–10 Chris Finch, Rio Grande Valley Vipers * 2010–11 Nick Nurse, Iowa Energy * 2011–12 Eric Musselman, Los Angeles D-Fenders * 2012–13 Alex Jensen, Canton Charge Rookie of the Year * 2001–02 Fred House, North Charleston Lowgators * 2002–03 Devin Brown, Fayetteville Patriots * 2003–04 Desmond Penigar, Asheville Altitude * 2004–05 James Thomas, Roanoke Dazzle * 2005–06 Will Bynum, Roanoke Dazzle * 2006–07 Louis Amundson, Colorado 14ers * 2007–08 Blake Ahearn, Dakota Wizards * 2008–09 Othyus Jeffers, Iowa Energy * 2009–10 Alonzo Gee, Austin Toros * 2010–11 DeShawn Sims, Maine Red Claws * 2011–12 Edwin Ubiles, Dakota Wizards * 2012–13 Tony Mitchell, Fort Wayne Mad Ants Defensive Player of the Year * 2001–02 Jeff Myers, Greenville Groove * 2002–03 Mikki Moore, Roanoke Dazzle * 2003–04 Karim Shabazz, Charleston Lowgators * 2004–05 Derrick Zimmerman, Columbus Riverdragons * 2005–06 Derrick Zimmerman, Austin Toros * 2006–07 Renaldo Major, Dakota Wizards * 2007–08 Mouhamed Sene, Idaho Stampede, and Stephane Lasme, Los Angeles D-Fenders * 2008–09 Brent Petway, Idaho Stampede * 2009–10 Greg Stiemsma, Sioux Falls Skyforce * 2010–11 Chris Johnson, Dakota Wizards * 2011–12 Stefhon Hannah, Dakota Wizards * 2012–13 Stefhon Hannah, Santa Cruz Warriors Impact Player of the Year * 2007–08 Morris Almond, Utah Flash * 2008–09 Eddie Gill, Colorado 14ers * 2009–10 Brian Butch, Bakersfield Jam * 2010–11 Jeff Adrien, Rio Grande Valley Vipers * 2011–12 Eric Dawson, Austin Toros * 2012–13 Rasual Butler, Tulsa 66ers Most Improved Player * 2009–10 Mildon Ambres, Idaho Stampede * 2010–11 Dar Tucker, New Mexico Thunderbirds * 2011–12 Kenny Hayes, Maine Red Claws * 2012–13 Cameron Jones, Santa Cruz Warriors Executive of the Year * 2009–10 Jon Jennings, Maine Red Claws * 2010–11 Bert Garcia, Rio Grande Valley Vipers * 2011–12 David Higdon, Bakersfield Jam * 2012–13 Bill Boyce, Texas Legends Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award * 2001–02 Mike Wilks, Huntsville Flight * 2002–03 Billy Thomas, Greenville Groove * 2005–06 Ime Udoka, Fort Worth Flyers * 2006–07 Roger Powell, Arkansas RimRockers * 2007–08 Billy Thomas, Colorado 14ers * 2008–09 Will Conroy, Albuquerque Thunderbirds * 2009–10 Andre Ingram, Utah Flash * 2010–11 Larry Owens, Tulsa 66ers * 2011–12 Moses Ehambe, Iowa Energy * 2012–13 Ron Howard, Fort Wayne Mad Ants All-Star Game MVP * 2006 Robert Adams, Tulsa 66ers * 2007 Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Fort Worth Flyers * 2008 Jeremy Richardson, Fort Wayne Mad Ants * 2009 Blake Ahearn, Dakota Wizards and Courtney Sims, Iowa Energy * 2010 Brian Butch, Bakersfield Jam * 2011 Courtney Sims, Iowa Energy * 2012 Gerald Green, Los Angeles D-Fenders * 2013 Travis Leslie, Santa Cruz Warriors All-NBA Development League Team See also * List of NBA Development League yearly standings * List of developmental and minor sports leagues References External links * The Official Site of the NBA D-League * D-League – Basketball-Reference.com * DraftExpress.com D-League Blog * NBA D-League on Twitter * NBA D-League on Facebook * NBA D-League on Flickr * NBA D-League on YouTube Category:National Basketball Association Category:NBA G League